Here’s how bad things have become for the New York Jets: They only ran three plays from scrimmage in the second quarter Sunday against the Broncos.
And one was a punt.
It got worse. Jets starting quarterback Brooks Bollinger suffered a possible concussion when sacked by linebacker Al Wilson late in the first quarter. He did not return after two more plays.
And Bollinger’s replacement, 42-year-old Vinny Testaverde, didn’t finish the game, either. Testaverde injured his ankle without contact when he turned to avoid hard-charging Broncos defensive end Marco Coleman just 1 minute, 13 seconds before the end.
Former Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury mopped up what had become a mess. Kingsbury, signed Sept. 28 for insurance, became the fifth quarterback used by the Jets this season. This was his first game action.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Kingsbury said of the injuries. “When you get to No. 5, there’s some crazy stuff happening.”
Three Jets quarterbacks – Chad Pennington, Testaverde and Bollinger – have attempted at least 75 passes this season. In the NFL, that’s not a good sign.
Pennington was lost in the third game to a shoulder injury, and backup Jay Fiedler has missed seven games with a shoulder problem. Testaverde is hobbled and Bollinger vomited on the sideline after getting drilled by Wilson.
“We’ll keep going and we’ll keep practicing,” Jets coach Herman Edwards said. “One thing we haven’t done since I’ve been here is point fingers. We won’t do that. It’s not our character. Eventually, things will turn around and it will be better.”
The Jets’ defense, counted on to carry the team through all of its injury problems, couldn’t get the Broncos off the field in the first half. Denver marched 95 yards on 17 plays for its first touchdown and 81 yards on 16 plays to set up a Jason Elam field goal early in the second quarter.
The injury problems at quarterback could be taking a toll on the entire team.
“We came out flat and stayed flat the whole day,” said Jets defensive end John Abraham, speaking of the defense.
Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer kept the chains moving with short completions on simple slant-in patterns. Veteran wideout Rod Smith made it look easy, turning underneath the coverage for four catches in the first half. Mike Anderson rushed for 113 yards for the game. The Jets’ featured running back, 12th-year veteran Curtis Martin, netted 7 yards on four carries.
The Jets threatened to avoid a shutout in the fourth quarter but Testaverde committed the team’s fifth turnover, the fourth by him. The final blunder was a lost fumble after getting sacked by linebacker Ian Gold at the Denver 40 with 9:38 remaining.
Nothing went right for the Jets, nothing to offer encouragement for a 2004 playoff team now 2-8.
“We’re going to see (the remainder of the season) who loves the game, and who doesn’t care,” Abraham said.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
